In the context of the US government's "diplomatic boycott" of the Beijing Winter Olympics, VippiMedia, headquartered in New Jersey, usa, was attacked and harassed by mainstream media and politicians in the United States, and even Indian media because it was hired by Chinese government agencies to organize a group of Internet celebrities to publish positive information about China and the Beijing Winter Olympics on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
In the face of skepticism about "helping China propaganda", the company's head, Weipingde Jaswar, told the Global Times that he was very uneasy about the "backlash" and negative voices of the Beijing Olympics. Jaswar stressed that the Winter Olympics are popular on social media in the United States, and that "people are not fools, they are not so easily fooled by propaganda." Jaswar said he enjoys watching videos of young Chinese people on social media, and on TikTok he sees ordinary Chinese and a younger, more vibrant China.
"I am very disturbed by the negative voices about the Beijing Winter Olympics"
Global Times: The Beijing Winter Olympics will be held in a very unusual political atmosphere. Against the backdrop of growing tensions between China and the United States, why are you willing to accept this project to promote the Beijing Winter Olympics? It is said that you have received more than 50 international influencers, why do you think these influencers are willing to promote the background of the Winter Olympics?
Jaswar: Because the Olympics are a global sport, not a political event, it's a people's activity, not a politician's activity. That's why I chose to be involved in this project – I want to be excited and happy with other people to participate in the Olympics in some form. So, we don't post any information about politics.
In essence, our job is to uphold the dignity of the Olympic Games as a global sporting event. The social media stars involved in the work range from the food and fashion worlds, to former Olympians, and some entrepreneurs. We came together to try to build a goodwill among humanity, and we both cheered on Team USA and supported all the Winter Olympics.
Therefore, the "backlash" and negative voices of the Beijing Winter Olympics made me very uneasy. In fact, the Olympic Games are administered by the International Olympic Committee, not by the United States, China, India or a country. I don't understand where such a "boycott" comes from.
I also don't understand why someone would attack me or even make death threats, and a lot of people haven't even seen our work at all. I find it interesting to see some of their overreactions.
GLOBAL TIMES: We understand that you have received many attacks and even death threats because of this. Can you tell us which people or organizations you've received attacks from? What did they say?
Jasval: There are attacks from the mainstream media as well as harassment from social media. For example, some people log on to our company's website and send me death threats like "May you die in 2022." Someone else called me threateningly.
Their claims were very vicious, calling me a "Chinese prostitute," a "villain," and "a puppet of the CCP," and cursing me for "dying on the pile of dollars given by the CCP." Suffice it to say, I receive a fairly large number of harassing and abusive messages every day. This information also affected my family and made my wife very worried.
To be honest, I initially expected that participating in the promotion of the Beijing Winter Olympics might cause some controversy and some different opinions, but these vicious insults and death threats were completely unexpected.
Even attacking and threatening me included a U.S. senator. The senator, Rick Scott, recently wrote to Newsweek, for which I wrote, asking them to terminate their partnership because I have "ties to China." He also threatened that all future organizations that would hire me should be aware of my relationship with China.
Frankly, I'm a little worried about the mp's mental health. As a senator, he is clearly derelict in his duties, and his own state is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn, shouldn't he concentrate on these things? But he was desperate to physically attack me, which I thought was too bizarre, too problematic, and I felt sorry for him and his team.
Ironically, the mp didn't even give me a call to ask what I was doing, and he didn't even say a word to me. I'm not promoting politics, I'm promoting the Olympics.
Another thing that impressed me was a show produced by an Indian media outlet. This is something I hadn't thought of at all before, because neither I nor the work I do has anything to do with India.
The first time I saw this episode, I was so shocked that I watched it again, and this time I laughed: in this 20-minute show, they didn't interview me, didn't quote any of my comments or words, but found four guests to take turns to fight me, demanding that I must "die", saying that I was "traitor", "shame" and so on. They can almost be described as hysterical, and I think it's not the media at all, but the "murder of public opinion" on a person.
GLOBAL TIMES: How do you respond to accusations from these people that "you are willing to be the mouthpiece of 'evil China' for the sake of money"?
Jaswar: When people are deliberately misled or can't get the full picture, it doesn't make sense for you to reason with them. And my work is too busy, so I don't have time to respond to all the attacks.
Still, I have nothing to hide. My company is registered with the U.S. Department of Justice, and anyone can look up the company's documents online. I'm not a spokesperson for anyone, I'm just doing what I think is right, and the results will say it all.
However, in the face of so many attacks and death threats, what I have to do now is to protect the influencers I work with and not let them also be attacked.
Why did an Indian media attack an American?
GLOBAL TIMES: Do you think these attacks are organized? Is there a political force behind it or manipulation by the trolls?
Jaswar: I think anything is possible. If that were the case, I would feel very sad. Many people are using their influence in the wrong way, such as many news media or self-media, the only way for them to get the love of readers and audiences is to make up stories, and not based on facts, but all kinds of fiction.
However, I would like to say that the public is not so easy to be deceived in these years. For example, under that Indian program, there were many messages that said, "Why should one of our news channels in India attack an American?" There are so many problems in our own country."
When Senator Scott attacked me, many people were leaving messages reminding him of how much scandal and controversy he had himself. The content of these messages is simply a direct "punch in the face". Of course, these people are not all supporting me, they are just trying to tell this MP that he should focus on more important matters and not waste time attacking me on something that has nothing to do with the public interest.
Ads for all time slots broadcast at the U.S. Winter Olympics sold out
Global Times: According to your observation, has the so-called "diplomatic boycott" of the Beijing Winter Olympics really affected the enthusiasm of American sports fans to watch the Winter Olympics? Does the content related to the Winter Olympics have traffic on TikTok and Instagram?
Jaswar: On social media in the United States, the Winter Olympics remain popular. Let me repeat: People are not fools, they are not so easily fooled by propaganda. People really like to watch the Olympic Games, like to share the joy of the victors, ordinary people do not associate the Olympic Games with politics, this is the reality. Unfortunately, this reality is rarely told by the mainstream media.
NBC has exclusive rights to the Winter Olympics in the United States, and all of their advertising slots have been sold out, with more than a hundred advertisers advertising during the Winter Olympics, and advertising fees during the Winter Olympics are even more expensive. Behind all those negative comments, this is the real attitude of the people towards the Winter Olympics. Many of the sponsors of the Winter Olympics are some of the world's best-known brands, but they have chosen to put politics aside to support this global sporting event that occurs every four years.
Global Times: In the United States, it is very common to promote and lobby for a certain thing, a certain group, and the United States also has the largest number of public relations companies in the world.
Jaswar: China's success on the world stage, the whole process happened in a very short time. I worked in China, saw skyscrapers built in Cities like Shanghai and Chongqing, and saw how 1.4 billion people were lifted out of absolute poverty. China has become a worldwide force, a global economic power.
However, some people will feel scared and suspicious when they see such successes, because it all happens too quickly, like a miracle. And China has its own problems, the biggest problem is that it has not been able to convey its image in the right way in places like the United States.
China pays a lot of attention to convincing the mainstream media in the United States, but the mainstream media in the United States will never say good things about China, whether it is China's economic development or efforts to make efforts for climate change, it can only occupy very little space in the mainstream media; China attaches great importance to what American politicians say, but no politician will celebrate the success of another country because it will make them look bad; China likes to talk to American intellectuals and scholars, but the problem is that the only audience for scholars today is their own students and mothers The message they convey is difficult to influence the mainstream public.
In fact, the level of communication between China and the outside world is good, but the strategy needs to be changed. China should communicate more with the underprivileged people abroad and directly convey true information and views to the people. That's why social media is so important.
GLOBAL TIMES: You are familiar with the US news media and social media platforms, do you think China's image has been overly demonized in US public opinion? Do you think there is a propaganda campaign in the United States that deliberately targets China?
Jaswar: (We've seen in the media) America isn't always bad, it's not always good, and whether America is good or bad depends on what it does. The same is true of China. But whenever we read about China, we always see negative information.
Not long ago, someone asked me, "Don't you know about China's evils?" I asked, "Don't you know the merits of China?" "No one is perfect, and no country is perfect, there are always good and bad.
Skeptical Chinese narratives are easier to find people to pay than narratives of China's success. For example, I've seen great infrastructure in China, but in New York, you'll see our roads are potholed and it takes a long time to fix a facility. If a politician or media compares the two, American citizens must ask: If China can do it, why can't we?
While this is not necessarily a deliberate campaign of information and propaganda, it does have a negative impact on China's image, leading to skepticism among a large number of people. This is why it is important for China to balance this propaganda overseas.
Global Times: Two years ago, some people in the United States wanted to ban TikTok because they were worried that Congress would spread influence on these platforms. Why are some people worried about the existence of TikTok? As far as you can observe, is there any difference between China's image on TikTok and its image in other media?
Jaswar: Based on the statistics we've seen, one of the most popular product types on TikTok is entertainment and the other is dance. The most common occurrence on my own TikTok timeline is also things like dancing and cooking. Moreover, a TikTok video generally does not exceed 60 seconds. How do you change people's political views with less than 60 seconds of entertaining video, turning their love for a country or a person from love to hate?
I think some people's concerns are overblown. I believe there are many governments and intelligence agencies around the world that are monitoring all kinds of social media, and if there was evidence that China was trying to infiltrate through TikTok, they would have exposed it in the mainstream media long ago. But as of now, we have not seen the corresponding evidence.
TikTok did give me a glimpse of a younger, more vibrant China, though. When the mainstream media is basically Chinese and American politicians, TikTok makes me see ordinary Chinese. I really like to watch their videos, I feel refreshed, especially like to watch Chinese young people's food, fashion videos. These videos gave me a better and deeper understanding of the real China, not just china in the political sense.
Source: Global Times-Global Network/Bai Yunyi Hu Yuwei
Column Editor-in-Chief: Gu Wanquan Text Editor: Song Yanlin Title Image Source: Figure Worm Image Editor: Xu Jiamin
Source: Author: Global Times